The Last Rose of Remnant
by N3kr0m
Summary: Several years have passed since the Fall of Beacon, and now all that remains on Remnant are memories of simpler times, with the battle between Ozpin and Salem nearing its end the world prepares itself for one last Great War. A war that will either free or destroy all of those on Remnant once and for all.
1. Grief

**Chapter 1: Grief**

The gravestones were neatly laid out and had been recently cleaned. Ruby looked at them one final time before departing. Every time she was assigned to a mission she visited that place. Seeing their friends' graves reminded her not only of how precious time was, but also of how it could all end in a matter of seconds if she was ill-prepared or careless. Lying under the cold stone ground were team JNPR, or whatever remained of them: Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren; all four of them were lost because of Salem's actions.

Pyrrha was the first one to be taken; she foolishly tried to challenge Cinder, even though she had no chance, and most likely no hope of defeating her.

Ren and Nora were next; they perished in the battle for Mistral while trying to fend off the Grimm and keep the citizens safe. Nora fell to the poison of a King Taijitu after the battle and Ren died shortly thereafter due to the large number of serious injuries he withstood while fighting.

Jaune was the last, and by far the most brutal death, Cinder had burned him alive when he tried to face her in order to avenge his fallen friends. He tried his best and fought well, but in the end he was no match for her maiden powers.

"I'll be back soon" Ruby promised to herself, "or at least I hope I will. "

The task given to her by Ozpin was to travel to one of the few remaining areas of Remnant that weren't under Salem's control: the island home of a tribe of Silver Eyes. She was to bring the tribe of roughly one hundred people safely back to help with the struggle against Salem. The problem was, none of the members of the tribe were warriors. Ruby was the last Silver Eyed Warrior alive.

* * *

The ship ride to the Silver Eyed settlement took a few days; luckily the crew didn't encounter any type of aquatic Grimm on their way to the small island just off the southern shore of Vacuo. The landscape of the place was mostly green, with very few areas covered in snow. The village was located in what could be considered the center of the island; it was built deep inside a valley giving it the natural protection it needed. Before arriving on the island, Ruby had estimated it would take about a day and a half to get to the small village. Upon arriving on shore, however, she realized that she would need about two or more days to reach the village.

"Are you sure you'll be safe going alone Ruby?"

"Yes, captain; and besides they'll only trust me, if any of the intel we gathered on them is right. "

"Ok, just wanted to be sure. And there's no need to be so formal, you can just call me Scarlet, we've known each other for quite some time by now, we should be able to call each other by name. "

"If you insist, " Ruby shrugged. "Anyway, I better start walking; it'll be a long road. "

"We'll wait for your return, then. And hopefully the tribe's, as well. "

This Silver Eyed settlement was the last of a small group discovered a few years before Salem began her campaign. While Ozpin had thought that all of those that possessed Silver Eyes were hunted down and killed by Salem's minions, a rather surprising source gave the information that secluded groups of Silver Eyes had been in hiding since her attack. It took a while to find and convince them all to join Ozpin's cause, but now that long work was close to its end.

Ruby knew that the trek to the settlement would be tiring; what she didn't expect was for it to be as uneventful as it was. She expected to come across at least a few Grimm, but found none through the entire journey which worried her. It could be that she was just being overly cautious, but things were too quiet for it to be any good; she had a feeling that this was the calm before the storm. After approximately a day of travel, she reached what she had marked on her scroll as the halfway point of her path to the tribe. Tired and stressed, she felt the best option was to lie down and rest for a few hours, maybe eat something; overexerting herself would only bring her more harm than good.

* * *

Ruby opened her eyes; she was standing in a large white hall that was rather empty, but its architecture showed that no expense was spared in the construction of this luxury. On the farther end of the room stood a white throne a dark figure sat upon it; another was at its side, as if waiting for a command, and just a little farther behind was a figure she recognized: her Uncle Qrow Branwen.

"You made a mistake, not running away with her, " the figure on the throne said.

"How can you be so sure?" Qrow responded dryly.

"You're all big talk, Qrow Branwen; if I didn't have other business to attend to, I would kill you myself. "

"I'd like to see you try. "

"That's quite enough, kill him, " said the figure on the throne to the other that stood beside it.

And so the other responded; it lunged forward in an almost feral manner, attacking with the blade it held with savagery. It threw cuts, thrusts and several other attacks at Qrow, which he either dodged or blocked with his weapon, but he didn't seem to be giving his all; something was holding him back, and that worried Ruby.

"Wake up, you know that this is not you, " Qrow said to the dark figure.

It responded only with a feral grunt and continued attacking. After a while the shadow managed to land a hit on Qrow, cutting his calf and forcing him into the ground. With Qrow at his knees, the shadow circled him to look at his eyes; they were empty but Ruby knew he was sad. He probably felt he failed everyone by allowing all of this to happen.

"Sorry pipsqueak, I won't be able to help you anymore, " Qrow turned his gaze to the shadow. "I know you're still in there, and I just want you to know that all of this isn't your fault; it never was. "

And with those final words, the shadow thrust its blade through Qrow's heart, still showing no emotion, still unfazed by his wound. After a short while Qrow's body went limp and fell on its side, the blood staining the perfectly clean white floor as the shadow walked away.

* * *

Ruby woke up to a low buzz, sweating and trembling. She looked to her side and found the source of the buzz; it was the alarm she had set on her scroll so she wouldn't oversleep. Turning it off with a sigh, she dusted herself off and packed the little camping gear she had. On the remainder of her way to the village, she couldn't help but think of her nightmare. Could that really have happened? No; her uncle was the best fighter she knew, second only to Ozpin, and there was no possible way he could lose- or so she hoped.

It took Ruby another day and half to reach the village but it paid off shortly after her arrival. When she got to the limits of the small settlement, her presence was already reported to what she assumed to be head of security, who came to meet her at the gate.

"State your name and business in this place, " the man said in a commanding tone

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine, " Ruby responded.

"Very well, " he sighed. "My name's Ash Auburn; I'm in charge of securing the gates. "

"Well Mr. Auburn, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ruby Rose. I'm here to bring a message from Ozpin. "

"And how do we know we can trust you?"

"I think _this_ is reason enough," she said, revealing her silver eyes which had been hidden under her hood until then.

"You're one of us, " Ash said perplexed "I… we thought, the others were all dead. "

"You're not the first one. Now may I come in? As I said I have a message from Ozpin to your leader. "

"Yes, yes you may. "

"Thank you. "

The place was as the information gathered by Qrow specified; nothing more than a couple of buildings and some small fields to keep the village fed. The leader's house was in the center of it all, only a bit bigger than the rest but still rather simple. An old woman sat in front of the house; she seemed to be expecting Ruby.

"Hello my child. I take it you have a message from Ozpin for me. Am I correct?"

"Yes ma'am. "

"Now, what is the message Ozpin has for me?"

"He wants you to join him, help in the fight against Salem. "

"Is that all?"

"Yes ma'am, that is all. "

"Very well then; we will be joining your cause. "

"Wait really? I mean I expected this to be a bit harder, but I'm thankful either way. "

"We will depart tomorrow, if that's okay with you. "

"I'm completely fine with this. No need to rush; take as long as you need. "

"You are a kind soul my child. "

"Please, just call me Ruby. "

"Very well, Ruby. Would you mind filling me in the details on Remnant's current situation? As you can probably gather, we don't know much, isolated in here as we are. "

"Yes, and I would be happy to do so. "

"Thank you. "

"Well, the situation on Remnant isn't the best currently; over the last couple of years Salem has unfortunately made significant progress in taking control. There are only a few areas left that she hasn't conquered yet, and these are protected by what is being called The Resistance, led by Ozpin. Not only she has most of Remnant's territory, but she also has currently two out of the four Relics and all maidens are on her side, either by force or by choice. "

"Things are not looking good for our side, are they?"

"No ma'am they're not. But we still have hope, and I have a feeling we can win this war. "

"I hope you're right my child. I hope you're right. "

By the following afternoon, Ruby had started to lead the Silver Eyed tribe back to Scarlet's ship. The return trip took nearly twice as long, due to the increased number of people. It was still as uneventful as the way to the settlement. Now that Ruby thought about it, the concentration of people that share the silver eyes trait should be enough to keep the Grimm kilometers away at least; that was hopefully the reason they had spotted none in this travel.

The way back to Beacon took about a week, which was a little bit longer than the usual trip would take, due to Scarlet wanting to be sure everything would go without a problem. His care showed results after arriving at Beacon; the hunter academy had now become a somewhat fortified outpost to the so-called Rebels. Most of the Silver Eyes were exhausted but in good condition. They were asked by Ruby to report to Ozpin the following day; after all they had been through, they had the right to rest. Ruby, on the other hand, had no such courtesy. She knew it would be best to report immediately, and so she did.

When she got to Ozpin's office, Weiss was already there, but something was wrong; she was holding herself, rocking back and forth, tear stains still fresh on her face, and what she said made Ruby's world shatter before her very eyes.

"I'm so sorry Ruby, Qrow is gone. "


	2. Confrontation

**Chapter 2: Confrontation**

"Gone, what do you mean?" Ruby asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

"He's dead Ruby," Weiss answered trying to hold back the tears. "He stayed behind so that I was able to flee. It's my fault he's gone."

"No it isn't. Uncle Qrow knew the risks. If you want to blame anyone, blame Salem - she started all of this."

"Please Miss Schnee, would you be able to clarify what happened?" Ozpin, who had remained silent until then, asked Weiss, wishing for more details.

"Yes, Ozpin, I can. I just need time to recompose myself."

"Very well, take your time then. I wouldn't want to hurry you."

* * *

Weiss was the first of Team RWBY to leave for her mission. She wanted to go to Atlas to see if she was able to talk some sense into her younger brother, maybe convince him into joining Ozpin's side. After bothering her for quite some time, Weiss finally let Qrow accompany her. Having the protection of a fully trained Huntsman was always something valuable. While she hoped that by going alone she would be able to avoid any unnecessary conflict, Weiss at least hoped that Qrow would know better than to cause ruckus in this delicate situation.

Getting to Atlas would be fairly difficult. Salem, being aware of The Resistance, made sure that most, if not all, routes connecting the kingdoms were heavily guarded; so finding a safe path from Beacon to there would require some work.

After consulting some of the scouts assigned to map out and find any safe routes that could be used by Ozpin's group, Weiss and Qrow were finally able to decide on the route they would take to Atlas. They would follow a path along the coastline until arriving somewhere where they would be able to safely board an airship and head to Atlas. From there they would make their way to the capital.

Atlas had changed a lot since the last time: what was once a beautifully constructed capital had faded into a shadow of its former self. After the conflict that led to the Fall of Atlas, it seemed that no one cared about rebuilding the city and bringing it back to its former glory. Well, almost no one. One building stood out in the landscape of the ruined city: the SDC Headquarters. Whitley had spared no efforts in boasting his supposed superiority over the remaining citizens of Atlas. Weiss thought that doing so made her younger brother feel in control of everything; it made him feel stronger. Her arrival at the capital gave Weiss a sensation that she wouldn't be able to talk some sense into Whitley, but she still had to try; she had come this far and there was no going back now.

Whitley decided to rebuild the SDC headquarters to mimic the style of the ancient palaces and combined it with the already existing architecture of the Schnee mansion. The result was what could only be described as a symbol of Whitley's ego, strength and insanity. It seemed that after he allied himself with Salem the boy started to think he was some kind of emperor, god, or maybe even both, and it seemed that this was only the start of his delusions of power.

As Weiss walked down the streets of this once beautiful city, she managed to recognize a few places: a park where she and Winter would play when they were younger, the school which her father forced her to attend in her younger years, and the library which had always been a place of comfort yet had sadly abandoned as time went on. These memories reminded her of a time when she had sampled and then craved for high society. Thankfully, her time at Beacon alongside Team RWBY had helped rid her of that craving. Qrow also had his share of memories in the city, although not quite as many as Weiss'. Like her memories, Qrow's were shared with Winter. Where Weiss saw old nostalgic memories, however, Qrow saw things a different way. Sure most memories were still happy, but he could always see in those moments that Winter wasn't completely happy; she never would be while she still were in her father's reach. Qrow always asked her to become a Huntress, so that they could always be together, but Winter would always deny his requests, saying that she wouldn't be good enough, or that she would never be accepted as one having never completed the required studies in one of the academies. Having heard that, Qrow tried to use his contacts to make the next best thing.

Ozpin had recently added a new member to his inner circle, and while he was still only a lieutenant, he was a promising soldier who seemed like he could easily move up the ranks. And if Ozpin had added him to his secret network, he was trustworthy enough to have a favor asked, and a favor was all Qrow needed at that moment.

"Qrow Branwen, did you hear what I asked?" Weiss's words brought him back to his senses, as he had seemingly dozed off for the last couple of minutes.

"I'm sorry, what was is it Ice Princess?"

"I asked if you know better than to cause conflict while I try to- negotiate- with my brother."

"Well, I'd like to think I'm smart enough not to mess up any kind of negotiation."

"I hope you're right."

As they approached the SDC headquarters, the two of them noticed just how pompous Whitley had decided to make after rebuilding it, and seeing that made Qrow snicker and think to himself if the boy wasn't compensating for something else. It was heavily guarded by the latest Atlesian tech and probably guarded 24/7. After joining Salem's, forces Whitley had become overly cautious, expecting that any day his sisters would come after him to take his "rightful place." This, clearly, never happened, but it did not change his paranoid behavior.

"State your business here," one of the Atlesian Knights said after the two reached the gates.

"I am here to speak with my brother," Weiss answered after stepping up.

"Anyone who wishes to see Master Whitley must have a previously scheduled appointment."

"This is a joke! I need no such things to speak to my brother."

"If you take one more step I'll be forced to use deadly force. This is your first and final warning."

"Enough!" said a voice coming from inside the SDC Headquarters. "Let them enter; I will speak to her."

After hearing that order, the Atlesian Knights stepped aside and allowed both Weiss and Qrow to continue forward. Upon entering, they were met not only by the stunning interior designed in shades of white and blue, the Schnee family colors, but also an unnerving figure: an icy copy of Jacques Schnee. His skin was white as snow and his eyes a dark faded blue; his clothes were the same as Weiss last remembered him wearing, only they seemed now to be made of solid ice. Weiss knew fully well what being faced by that figure meant: her younger brother shared the Schnee semblance, and he had been the one that killed their father.

"Master Whitley awaits you in the assembly hall, follow me," said the copy of Weiss' father.

The assembly hall was as beautifully constructed as the rest of the headquarters: its architecture was identical to ancient throne rooms; presenting a rectangular shape, it had columns holding its innermost layers of walls, all tapestry on the room was in different shades of blue, and on the northern end of the room sat a highly detailed throne carved out of ivory, its crest an eloquent and artistic rendering of the Schnee family crest.

Atop the throne sat Whitley, Weiss' younger brother. As he grew, the boy had begun to take after their father. Aside from the silver colored hair, the youngest Schnee so resembled his father that one might not have been able to tell the two apart, had the father still been alive. After taking charge of the SDC, he had also begun dressing like his father, only he preferred to wear darker colors, perhaps to reflect his own darkened heart.

"You've made a good job bringing them here, Jacques. You can go now," Whitley said as the icy copy of Jacques started to fade into nothing more than a pile of snow.

"So dear sister, you've finally come to take my righteous place as leader of the SDC, just like Winter, haven't you?"

"You're speaking nonsense Whitley; I'm only here so I can try to talk some sense into you."

"Do you want to know the funny thing dear sister?" Whitley asked, and without waiting to any kind of response he answered, "Winter said the exact same thing and would you just look at what happened to her."

"What happened to her?" Weiss asked, anger clear in her voice. " All I know is that she simply vanished about a year ago."

"Well then allow me to show you," Whitley answered with a wicked smile as he snapped his fingers.

Something that was hiding itself on the shadows of the northern side of the room started to step forward, and as it walked Qrow and Weiss heard a sound that could only be attributed to creaking bones, as if it contorted itself with every step. Once the "creature" stepped into the light and stood beside the throne, the two of them finally realized what it truly was. They knew that Winter mysteriously vanished after going after Whitley, so they could assume that the boy had something to do with it. What they would never have guessed was that after Winter tried to negotiate with her brother, he somehow managed to knock her down and take her to Salem so that she could have a Grimm parasite implanted in her brain, forcing her to follow both Salem's, and after asking for it, Whitley's orders without question. Winter's body, or rather what once was her, was cut in various different places and both it and her hair were tainted a dirty red due to bloodstains that were never cleaned. Her skin, once fair, was now a stark white with only a few dark marks leading from her cheeks to her eyes, which, much like Salem's, had turned dark with a blood red iris. She had turned thinner and thinner with the passing time, now little more than skin and bones. The only thing in her entire figure that had any remaining glory was the blade she held; Winter's old weapon had been destroyed and reforged by a blacksmith working under Salem, and although it maintained its basic form, Whitley ordered it to be given jagged edges so it could more easily cause bleedings.

"What did you do to her you monster?" Weiss asked, enraged.

"I did nothing. Salem, on the other hand," Whitley answered, barely containing his laughter, "while she didn't give me all the details, I can only imagine the things that our dear sister had to go through."

"How about you, Qrow Branwen?" the boy asked, turning his focus to the dusty old crow. "No snarky remarks, witty one liners, or anything of the sort to provide?"

Weiss, who had been looking at her brother this entire time, turned her gaze to Qrow, only to find him trembling in his place, fists clenched, knuckles white from trying his best to hold back his anger, nails digging so deeply in his palms they had started to bleed. With a cool that could only be described as unnatural, he managed to ask Weiss one thing.

"Weiss, if what he did to Winter is any indication, you won't be leaving here in one piece if you stay. Now run, I'll be right behind you."

"No, I'll stay here and fight," Weiss answered without even noticing Qrow had called her by name.

"Ice Princess, this is not the time to be stubborn, now run and I'll be right behind you."

Without even looking behind her, Weiss ran hoping that Qrow would be close behind. But deep inside she knew that neither she nor anyone else would see Qrow Branwen ever again.

"You made a mistake, not running away with her," Whitley said to Qrow.

"How can you be so sure?" Qrow responded dryly.

"You're all big talk, Qrow Branwen. If I didn't have other business to attend to, I would kill you myself."

"I'd like to see you try."

"That's quite enough. Kill him," ordered Whitley to the desecrated husk of what was once Winter that stood beside his throne.

And so the thing obeyed, lunging forward almost in a feral manner. Wielding its blade with savagery, it attacked relentlessly, cutting at his left and right sides time and time again, but he easily deflected or avoided every blow; compared to what he was used to, these kinds of attacks were child's play. The thought of harming Winter, the woman he had once loved, held him back from deftly ending the fight in the few easy moves he knew it would take.

"Wake up, you know that this isn't you," Qrow said trying to get through to Winter.

Her only response was a grunt as she continued to attack. With every strike, her chances of succeeding to hit Qrow increased. After five or so minutes of Winter's endless barrage she managed to cut his calf, cutting his tendon and bringing him to his knees. After bringing Qrow to the ground, Winter circled her prey to look him in the eyes. A single tear struggled to escape Qrow's eye, but he held it back; Qrow didn't want to give Whitley the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

"Sorry pipsqueak, I won't be able to help you anymore," Qrow turned his gaze to Winter. "I know you're still in there, and I just want you to know that all of this isn't your fault- it never was."

After those final words, Winter thrust her blade directly into Qrow's heart. As she did so, Qrow noticed a single tear roll her cheek; with that he knew that somewhere deep inside, Winter was still alive and fighting her hardest for the control of her body. As his body went limp and he fell on his side, Qrow remembered the last time he had truly talked to Winter.

* * *

He had visited Atlas to discuss with Ironwood some matters dealing with Ozpin's inner circle. As he left, Qrow spotted Winter sparring with another soldier. He watched as she quickly defeated him by baiting him to attack.

"Not bad, not bad at all, Snow Angel," Qrow said as he approached Winter.

"Qrow, what are you doing here?" Winter asked, turning at the sound of the familiar yet unexpected voice.

"Nothing major," he answered in a joking manner. "I had some things to talk about with Jimmy."

"Anyway, how are things going?" Qrow asked her.

"Well enough, I guess, will you be staying here longer?"

"Sorry but I can't, got some other things I have to do."

"Alright, but promise me you will come back to see me."

"I promise."

As luck would have it, however, Qrow never managed to return and see Winter, leading her to resenting him, thinking he had forgotten his promise to her.

* * *

As Qrow lay on the ground, the blood from his wound beginning to stain the perfect white floor and leaving him ever closer to death, Qrow's last vision as his vision went dark was that of Winter crawling back to the shadows of that room.

As Weiss finished to tell how she escaped thanks to Qrow and rushed as fast as she could back to Beacon, tears had begun to roll down her face once again. She wiped them away and looked at Ruby. The only thing clear on her face was shock after hearing all that had happened. As Ozpin tried his best once again to comfort Weiss and now Ruby, they heard the elevator arrive, opening to reveal Blake who had arrived and came to report to Ozpin.

"What has happened here?" she asked, seeing both Ruby and Weiss in shock at something that had occurred during her absence.


End file.
